<남은 여생의 시련>을 통해 고찰한 사할린 한인의 귀환과 귀환자의 권리에 관한 일고찰 = A Study on the Rights of Returnees and the Return of Soviet Koreans in Sakhalin Through Difficulty at Remaining Life Written by In Muhak

Abstract

In Muhak's Diffuculty at Remaining Life is a work of drama that deals with the issue of permanent repatriation of Koreans in Sakhalin and when it was put on stage in Busan in 2016, it served as an opportunity to raise awareness of the magnitude of the problem in Korea. The significance of this work lies in the fact that it deals with the chain of historical events that were caused by the return of those who were deported to Sakhalin or were taken there for similar reasons. As the protagonist Won Sangmo was unable to fulfill the conditions for permanent repatriation, he had to employ many expedients in the process of solving the problem and returning to Korea. He had to correct his birth certificate that wrongfully certified that he was born after August 15, 1945 and got engaged in a disguise marriage in order to hide the fact that he was single. The circumstances of Kim Yonghee, the woman who agreed to get married to Won Sangmo in disguise, is not much different. In order for them to break away from their circumstances of having to wander Sakhalin as wreckages of history and their home country, they had no choice but to accept the conditions of permanent repatriation even if those measures might be unjust. The playwright, In Muhak, conveys the message of the dilemma that the Koreans in Sakhalin are faced with through these choices and contradictions. He makes a sharp remark regarding their current circumstances based on their history of being estranged and of being denied any chance of being saved. This is also a time of hardship that Koreans in Sakhalin had to endure as Korean nationals living abroad.